Classroom Grants

Classroom Funding

TVA Service Areas

Public and Private Schools

All Grades

STEM Classroom Grants

Sponsored by the TVA and BVI

The TVA STEM Classroom Grant Program, sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (BVI, a TVA retiree organization), is designed to fund STEM learning projects in classrooms and schools in the TVA service area.


“The Tennessee Valley Authority understands that excellence in education is the key to our future,” said TVA STEM Education Manager Rachel Crickmar. “We want to work directly with teachers to support initiatives that advance STEM activities in the classroom to develop a talent pipeline for TVA and its customers.”


About TVA

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.


Applications for the 2021/2022 program open September 1, 2021 and close October 18, 2021.
Applications are now closed for 2021
Application

Eligible applicants are teachers or school administrators in public or private schools, grades K through 12. Schools must be located in the TVA service area and receive power from a TVA distributor. If a TVA service provider is misidentified in the application, that application will not be accepted. Please contact your school to verify the school's local power distributor.  

Please download the Budget Template to upload with your application. We encourage you to preview the application and prepare your responses before entering them into the form, as you cannot save your work and return later.

Applications for the 2021-2022 year open September 1, 2021 and close October 18, 2021.

The application window is now closed. Please check back for the 2022 application window. 

Funding Guidelines

Funds may not be used for furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports, unless the funding is requested for pandemic response (See more details below). 

TVA does not provide grants to individual fundraising efforts, sporting events, school trips or transportation, construction projects, renovation projects or capital campaigns, political organizations, labor organizations, fraternal organizations, religious organizations directly tied to a place of worship, chairs, endowments, or scholarships sponsored by academic or nonprofit institutions. 

Funding Priority Areas
Environment, Energy, Economic and Career Development, or Community Problem Solving. (See below for examples of projects funded in each category.) 

Guidelines for Spending

All funds must be spent by June 1, 2022 and must be spent in the manner outlined in the approved grant proposal.


Everything purchased with the grant funds is to become property of the school/organization and must stay with the school or organization if the teacher who applied were to depart. 


A report on all expenses is due on or before June 30, 2021 (See link above).


Grant changes and extensions may be requested via the change request form (see link above).


Schools with previous TVA grants who have received extensions and not yet completed their project are not eligible for funding for this round.


Tips for Your Application

A high scoring application will:



  • Be a unique, innovative, and/or creative idea
  • Align to one or more of the TVA areas of focus
  • Incorporate design thinking
  • Promote 21st century skills
  • Enhance college and career readiness
  • Be collaborative or interdisciplinary across subjects and/or grades
  • Involve a community partner
  • Impact a high percentage of students
  • Expose traditionally underserved students to STEM learning

A well written application will:



  • Clearly communicate the project and anticipated results
  • Explain the anticipated student learning outcomes and how the project will deepen students’ understanding of STEM
  • Contain a description of how intended outcomes will be assessed

All applications should:


  • Contain a budget outline (using the provided template) for the full amount of funding requested
  • Not contain furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports
  • Be from a school that receives power from a TVA distributor
  • Agree to all of the terms and conditions at the end of the application 
Examples of Previously Funded Projects for Each Focus Group

Community Problem Solving 

 Project: No Dirt, No Problem! School-wide STEM Vertical Gardening

School: Spring Hill Elementary

For this project, students research, design, and launch a plan to grow crops without soil. Students help develop an edible school garden and utilize an automatic vertical hydroponic system. They work together to investigate, create, and communicate ideas related to the topic of food security for our community and state. Through an outdoor classroom, students learn about innovations and agricultural concepts that span across math, science, art, health, social studies, and technology. Throughout the project, students monitor, compare, measure, test, and alter the conditions to best support the plants. These new outdoor skills can be taken home to their families and they strengthen the relationship between the school and community. 

Environment

Project: Sequatchie River Water Study

School: Bledsoe County High School

This project provides the tools for the Bledsoe County High School’s Ecology class to conduct a semester-long study of the water quality in the Sequatchie River. Four sites are utilized along the river in Bledsoe County: two upstream and two downstream of the sewage treatment plant. Students test for nitrates, phosphates, silica and pH. Carbon dioxide, water hardness and dissolved oxygen are also studied, in addition to a test for bacterial (coliform) pollution.

The students also collect and identify micro and macro invertebrates in the river. This project allows students to discover the value of macro invertebrates as living indicators of water quality. The data collected is then analyzed by the students at the end of the semester, and the students create videos and presentations to showcase their testing and findings.

Energy

Project: Pedal Power!

School: Lookout Valley Middle School

This project is designed to motivate students to exercise while teaching them concepts in STEM. The project allows students to collaboratively build bicycles that can create and capture electricity into a usable power source. Lessons include electricity, sustainable energy sources, technology, engineering, design and various math concepts. The students are able to take a battery pack that is empty and, by riding the bicycles they built, produce electricity to recharge the battery. The project collaborates with teachers in subjects across the curriculum including P.E., science, math and physics.

Economic and Career Development

Project: K-4 STEM @ Home Career Certification Kits

School: Prescott South Elementary

In an effort to provide motivated students additional learning opportunities regarding STEM Careers at home, Prescott South Elementary will develop STEM @ Home Career Kits. Each grade level supports one STEM Career area. Activities within the pack includes developmentally-appropriate literacy related to the career, information regarding education required for the career, information regarding potential geographic locations for employment, and engaging activities to develop an understanding of skills necessary for the career. Each grade level has five different packs. If all five projects are completed to a level of mastery, the student becomes Prescott-certified for that career strand. An evaluation rubric is included in each pack to promote goal setting and an understanding of the expectation for mastery.

Each grade level has developmentally-appropriate materials to research and gain a deeper understanding of the STEM Career grade-level focus area. The completed materials returned from home serves as evidence of learning. An evaluation rubric is included in each STEM at Home Project Pack. Students are verbally praised for effort regardless of mastery level.
Frequently Asked Questions
 Application Questions

Do I have to have the exact pricing for each item on my budget?
No. We understand prices can change over time and vary by store. Just estimate as closely as possible. 

How do I know if my school is in a TVA service area and receives power from a TVA distributor?
Grants are open to all teachers or school administrators in public and private schools, grades K through 12, that are located in the TVA service area and receive power from a TVA distributor. To check to see if your school is in a TVA service area and receives power, follow the links on the right side at the top of this page.

What projects are NOT eligible for a grant?
Funds may not be used for furniture, cash, gift cards, travel, salary, food, general office supplies not related to STEM activities, or sports. Schools with previous TVA STEM Classroom grants who have received extensions and not yet completed their projects are not eligible for this grant cycle.

Are "Pandemic Response" grants available this year?
This was a one time offering for the 2020/2021 grant cycle and is not available for the 2021/2022 year.

I can't get the form to work. Can I apply via email?
We're sorry but all applications must come through the online form. If your school internet or computer blocks typeform, please try applying with a different computer or on a wifi connection from home or a public place outside of your school building.

Can my school apply for more than one grant? Can I apply for more than one grant?
Yes and yes! We cannot guarantee we will be able to fund multiple grants from one school or person, but you are more than welcome to apply with as many ideas as you would like.

A vendor wrote my application for me, is that ok?
If we receive multiple applications with the same language written by a vendor, those applications will be disqualified. Your application should be your own, unique work. 

When will I be notified? Will I be notified if I didn't win?
All applicants will be notified, regardless of award status. Notifications will occur in mid-late December.

If my application is funded, when can I expect to receive funds?
We expect for accepted grants to receive their funding in early spring. Once an applicant receives notification of acceptance, we will email a request for the applicant's District W9. After the successful successful submission of a W9, applicants can expect to receive a check to their district office in approximately 60 days.



Questions Once Awarded

When will I be notified? Will I be notified if I didn't win?
All applicants will be notified, regardless of award status. Notifications will occur in mid-late December.

When and where will I receive my check?
Your check will be mailed to your district office by the end of February. All checks are mailed to the district office unless special arrangements have been made or if you are at a private school. If more than one school receives an award in a district, ONE check will be sent for all awards with a letter outlining which school is to receive which amount. Please contact your district and/or school financial office to inquire about the check before contacting Battelle. 

Where can I get help with my W9?
You can read about and download a blank W9 form on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9 If you need help filling out the form, please contact your school bookkeeper or district financial office. Battelle Education employees are unable to assist with the W9.

Can I substitute a similar item if my item goes out of stock? 
Yes, absolutely! You do not need to email asking to permission to substitute a similar item for one you listed in your budget.

What if I don’t spend it all?
If your items go on sale or something else happens and your budget changes, please send us a quick note outlining how you would like to spend the difference on STEM related activities. We don’t want you to have to return any funds, so we’re happy to work with you to spend any surplus you may encounter!

I’m moving to a different school, can I take the grant funds and/or equipment with me?
All grant funds and items purchased with grant funds must remain at the school at which the application was originally written. If you are departing, please assign a new teacher to take over the project. Should a new teacher not wish to take over the project, the funds will need to be returned. Please contact us for information on how to return the grant funds. 

Is there a required format for the grant summary report due by June 30, 2021? 
Yes, the grant summary report must be submitted online through our portal: grant summary report form

What if I need an extension or need to make some changes to my original proposal?
Please submit your changes via the simple form linked at the top of this page. 


For more questions, please contact us at tsin@battelle.org.


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